Archive for the 'Calgary Flames' Tag Under 'Ducks' Category

CALGARY, Alberta – The Ducks have the chance to fly home with a winning Pacific Division trip through western Canada when they take on the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome on Sunday night.

Jonathan Bernier (4-1-1, 2.02 GAA, .933 SV%) is expected to get the start after John Gibson played Saturday, stopping 29 shots in a 3-2 overtime loss to Edmonton. Bernier has won four of his last five starts and his last time out was a 21-save effort in a 3-2 win at San Jose last weekend.

Ryan Getzlaf leads the Ducks with 21 points. Only two of those are goals as the Ducks captain hasn’t been finding the net with his shots. His game Saturday had mixed results when it came to his attempts.

In the second period, Ondrej Kase fed Getzlaf a pass that gave the center an opportunity to beat Oilers goalie Cam Talbot but his hesitation allowed an extra moment for Talbot to slide over and make the save. Getzlaf did come right back and set up Ryan Kesler’s power-play goal.

And in the third, Getzlaf did take a shot that appeared to ricochet off the skate of the Oilers’ Benoit Pouliot right to Rickard Rakell. Rakell slammed the puck into an open net to tie the game, allowing the Ducks to get a point.

ANAHEIM – Home for the first time in over two weeks, the Ducks will try to stay hot on the trail toward first place in the Pacific Division as they face the Calgary Flames at Honda Center on Sunday night.

The Ducks (30-19-8) have won four in a row and 11 of 13 to surge into second place but fell back to four points behind the first-place Kings, who ended their own seven-game road trip with an overtime win at Nashville.

The Ducks went 5-1-1 on their recent run away from home. Rickard Rakell scored four goals on the trip and his 15 goals for the season put him second behind Corey Perry. Hampus Lindholm also had three goals and now has a career-high eight.

A once-dormant offense has surged to life during their 18-4-2 run since Christmas. The Ducks have scored four goals or more in regulation 12 times after doing so just six times in their first 33 games. They also haven't been shut out since Jan. 6 against Toronto after being blanked seven times before then.

Because of an earlier 4 p.m. start to accommodate a national broadcast in Canada, the Ducks did not skate in the morning. Coach Bruce Boudreau will have to decide between sticking with John Gibson (13-8-2, 2.10 GAA, .917 SV%) in goal or using Frederik Andersen (14-8-6, 2.39 GAA, .917 SV%). Gibson made 19 saves in a 5-2 win Thursday over Vancouver.

CALGARY, Alberta – The Ducks begin an important second stage of their season-long road trip when they face the Calgary Flames in a Monday afternoon matinee at Scotiabank Saddledome.

Frederik Andersen (12-8-0, 2.30 GAA, .919 SV%) is expected to get the start in goal as John Gibson is a question mark to even dress after suffering an upper-body injury in a crease collision with Chicago’s Richard Panik on Saturday.

Andersen played the third period and overtime against Blackhawks, facing only six shots and allowing a goal in 22:16 of playing time. Anton Khudobin was recalled from San Diego (AHL) on Sunday and could dress as Andersen’s backup.

Because of limit bench space at United Center, Andersen watched much of the game from their dressing room and joked that “you try not to fall asleep” when he’s not starting. He said it is easier to prepare mentally for going in when a goalie change is going to be made because of poor play or the team struggling in a game.

“You just kind of got to re-focus as quick as possible,” Andersen said. “I didn’t know until the period ended that I might have to go in. Just focus on doing what you can. … It was almost a bad thing that they barely had a shot the first 10 minutes. Two dump-ins was all they had. And then they scored.

CALGARY, Alberta – Top defenseman prospect Shea Theodore will make his NHL debut Tuesday night when the Ducks take on the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome.

Theodore was called up on two prior occasions this season but served as the extra defenseman. His services will be needed now that Cam Fowler is lost for an undetermined length of time due to a sprained right knee suffered early in Sunday’s game against Philadelphia.

The team’s top pick in the 2013 draft has been playing in the American Hockey League with the San Diego Gulls, posting four goals and 12 assists in 27 games.

“I was kind of waiting for my opportunity,” Theodore said. “Obviously they’re going to give me a shot at some point and I guess I got the nod today. Coming here, I’m pretty excited for it.”

He’ll get some support from a few among the usual sellout, red-clad crowd. Theodore said his parents and sister are making their way over from their native British Columbia this afternoon.

ANAHEIM – The Ducks begin an important week of action Tuesday night when they host the Calgary Flames, a team they’ve owned when it comes to playing at Honda Center.

Since their 4-1 victory in Anaheim on Jan. 19, 2004, the Flames have lost 20 straight regular-season games at the arena. They’ve also only won once in six playoff games during that time, a 5-2 Game 3 victory in the 2006 Western Conference quarterfinals.

Entering play Tuesday, the Ducks (7-10-4) are four games behind Vancouver for the third playoff position in the Pacific Division. They’ll head to Arizona on Wednesday to face the Coyotes, who are one point back of the Canucks in fourth.

After Stanley Cup champion Chicago comes in for the annual Black Friday matinee, Vancouver pays a visit to Anaheim on Monday night.

Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau called Tuesday’s game “the most important game on our agenda” but wasn’t in the mood to stray beyond that.

ANAHEIM -- Part of Bob Murray's reshaping of the Ducks last summer in getting centers Ryan Kesler and Nate Thompson was to improve his team's work in the faceoff circle.

The fruits of that focus point paid off in the regular season and, especially so, in the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Ducks have been claiming faceoffs at a 55.4 percent rate, which is second only to now-eliminated Washington. They held decisive advantages over Winnipeg and Calgary in their series wins over each.

Now in the Western Conference finals, the Ducks should get a tougher challenge with Chicago. The Blackhawks haven't been as decisive but they're still winning draws at a 51.4 percent rate.

"Well, statistically they’ve got better faceoff men," Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said. "We’ll have to be a little more focused on every faceoff and every attempt. They’ve got a little more experience at the faceoff circle than Calgary had for sure, with [Sean] Monahan and such. Winnipeg had young guys in the middle as well.

ANAHEIM -- Here is the expected lineup that the Ducks will start with against the Calgary Flames for Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals Sunday night at Honda Center. Frederik Andersen (7-1, 1.96 GAA, .927 SV%) has stopped 95 of 102 shots in the first four games for a .931 save percentage. Coach Bruce Boudreau said there aren't any lineup changes planned so Tomas Fleischmann will play a second straight game in the series and Emerson Etem will sit out. Boudreau liked how Kyle Palmieri, who had an assist on Andrew Cogliano's tying goal in Game 4, responded after it looked as if Jiri Sekac would come in for him that game. "When you win, it’s hard to justify again changing the lines or the lineup at all," Boudreau said. "Because then you’re trying to out-guess yourself. And I’m not really good at that." The Ducks have scored three or more goals in every contest but Game 2 against Winnipeg and their average of four goals per game leads all playoff teams. In addition to his team-leading six goals and 14 points, Corey Perry also has the edge in plus-minus with a plus-8 rating.

CALGARY, Alberta - Here is the expected lineup that the Ducks will start with against the Calgary Flames for Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals on Friday night at Scotiabank Saddledome.

Frederik Andersen (6-1, 1.96 GAA, .927 SV%) is coming off his first loss of the playoffs after allowing four goals on 21 shots in Game 3. It is just the second time this postseason that Andersen has allowed more than two goals in a game.

Pat Maroon's three goals have already topped the two he had in 13 games during the 2014 postseason. Simon Despres has two assists in Game 3 while Corey Perry's goal gave him points in six of seven playoff games.

Tomas Fleischmann will play in Game 4 while Emerson Etem will come out of the lineup for the first time. Kyle Palmieri, who has one point in seven playoff games, was moved down to the fourth line. John Gibson (flu) is healthy again and will back up Andersen for the first time this postseason.

CALGARY, Alberta -- Having received some strong play from the veteran forward in the first round, the Ducks will turn again to Tomas Fleischmann for Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinal against Calgary on Friday night.

Fleischmann did not in the first three games against the Flames but had two effective contests at the end of the Ducks' four-game sweep of Winnipeg to open the postseason. He'll start out on the third line with Rickard Rakell and Andrew Cogliano against the Flames.

“I've got to keep it simple and short and, hopefully, I'm going to help the team," Fleischmann said. "I took two weeks [sitting], but that's my job right now here. I'm excited I'm in the lineup tonight. I'm happy to be here.

"You've got to win the battles on the boards and offensively I've got to produce. It's going to be important to get this game. We gave them a little bit of life and we've got take it back. That's our mission for tonight. You've got to show the coach you want to stay in the lineup."

Fleischmann's move into the lineup will drop Kyle Palmieri down to the fourth grouping of forwards and knock Emerson Etem out of the lineup. Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau likes Fleischmann's versatility.

CALGARY, Alberta -- Here is the expected lineup that the Ducks will start with against the Calgary Flames for Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals Tuesday night at Scotiabank Saddledome. Frederik Andersen (6-0, 1.64 GAA, .942 SV%) has stopped 53 of the 54 shots he's faced in the series and is coming off a 30-save effort in Game 2 for his first playoff shutout. The Ducks have made only two lineup changes in the postseason, having Chris Wagner and Tomas Fleischmann fill in for an injured Nate Thompson in the first round. "So far, we’ve been lucky," Coach Bruce Boudreau said. "It’s an ideal situation. We’ve gone through enough adversity during the course of the year. Hopefully we don’t have to do it too much in the playoffs." Jason LaBarbera will likely back up Andersen once again but John Gibson (flu) is on the trip has practiced with the team the last two days. Corey Perry (5 goals, 8 assists) and Hampus Lindholm (1 goal, 6 assists) each have scored points in five of their six playoff games.